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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I'm Nan Johnson (Art is Not A Thing) and I live on the East Coast of the US, in the Northern part of New Jersey. Karla Uphoff (Karla Uphoff Fine Art) asked if I would be interested in doing a challenge where a small, ceramic chicken is sent to an artist & they paint or draw whatever it inspires. Azra (Azra's Painting a Day) in the UK started the whole challenge by contacting Karla. The idea sounded so appealing that I immediately said yes.

When this little chicken arrived, I ran all over the house (& yard), posing this little chick everywhere. It was in the flower bed, on the bird bath, in various locations in the house. And I took photos in each - but nothing worked the way I wanted it to. The chick looked lost amongst the larger than life leaves in my photos - zooming in to get the little chick center stage made the leaves in the garden look like imposing alien creatures!

So I simply sat down and looked at the chick for a while. And I noticed how unusual the chicken actually was - from the markings on it's body to the unusual beak & tail. And then I wondered what a flock of live chickens would think of this little one?

My painting is the outcome of that thought & question. Titled "One of the Flock?" shows the puzzled chicks looking at the little chicken with confusion. The little chick has no qualms about it's identity - it knows who it is. So it just sits as the others simply guess.

The little chicken has been safely packaged and mailed to Jill Polsby in California, who has agreed to do the 4th installment of the The Traveling Chicken challenge. I wonder how far & wide this little chick with travel!?!

Hi my name is Karla Uphoff of Karla Uphoff Fine Art and I am the happy recipient of The soon to be infamous traveling chicken!! Thank you Azra for choosing me to continue the saga!!

I had just finished watching a great watercolor demonstration video called From Art Journaling To Art by
Jane LaFazio and I thought this little chicken was the perfect opportunity to try out watercolors. I normally paint in oils, so this was a fun little experiment.

Here is an example of one of my oil paintings.

.So as you can see, painting the little chicken was quite a deviation from my normal painting. But that is what being creative is all about, Right?

Now the little chicken is off to Nan of Art is Not a Thing. Be sure to follow this blog so you can follow the exploits of the Traveling Chicken!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

My name is Azra and my blog is Azra's Painting a Day (I live in the UK) . In March I bought a little ceramic chicken to use in one of my paintings, and then I thought how exciting it would be if I offered this chicken to a fellow artist to paint also.She in turn would mail it to another artist.

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About The Project

The travels & adventures of a group of ceramic chicken friends as they make their way around the art world, making new friends and inspiring creativity. Artists from across the globe are always surprised to see who's coming to visit. They are sharing their stories through their paintings and drawings, as the Traveling Chicken inspires new work!